Infected and transformed cells are modeled using viral systems. Computers are used to study the nucleic acid and protein sequences that embody the information of living systems. Computer analyses of proteins and nucleic acids are developed and implemented in conjunction with techniques of biochemistry, virology, and electron microscopy on sequences of picornaviruses, adenoviruses, and human immunodeficiency viruses. Graphic tools are developed to display, analyze and manipulate molecular structures. Computer programs are developed locally and elsewhere for application on vector and massively parallel supercomputers, minicomputers and graphic workstations to perform sequence analysis and structure predictions. Methods to assess the significance of predictions use Monte Carlo simulations, evolutionary comparisons and biochemical data. Roles for genes and proteins are deduced by comparison with databases of sequences and structures of known function.